Saturday, May 25, 2024

Coming Up, In October 2024: ESA's Launch To Europa -- In Search For... Salty Liquid Subsurface Oceans, Ones That May Harbor Rudimentary Biology...


On a quiet Saturday holiday evening. . . we look ahead -- to the prospect of finding life, off-world, but right here (relatively speaking) in our own neighborhood: on Europa.

CalTech/JPL has contributed mightily to this effort, on a space science basis, but the lead is in fact the European Space Agency. We are keenly excited to see, what comes of this daring effort. Here's the latest:

. . .Europa Clipper’s main science goal is to determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life.

The mission’s three main science objectives are to understand the nature of the ice shell and the ocean beneath it, along with the moon’s composition and geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.

NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft will perform dozens of close flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa, gathering detailed measurements to investigate the moon. The spacecraft, in orbit around Jupiter, will make nearly 50 flybys of Europa at closest-approach altitudes as low as 16 miles (25 kilometers) above the surface, soaring over a different location during each flyby to scan nearly the entire moon. . . .


Onward -- laughing about the waves we've already created. . . in Palatine's village government chambers.

नमस्ते

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